Score: Elmira College 2, The College at Brockport 1
Records: Elmira (4-6), Brockport (3-7)
Location: Dr. Linda Arena & Class Of '69 Field Hockey Venue – Brockport, N.Y.
 
BROCKPORT, N.Y. -- Goals from Kaylee Gill '22 and Emily Selbert '20, along with a phenomenal performance in goal by Tina O'Donnell '20, helped the Elmira College field hockey team secure a 2-1 road victory against The College at Brockport on Wednesday evening. With the win, the Soaring Eagles extended their winning streak to three consecutive games, the longest such streak for the Elmira women since 2015.
                        
O'Donnell finished the evening with nine saves, seven of which came in the second half. Selbert had a hand in each of Elmira's goals tonight, as the third-year standout assisted on the game-opening tally and produced the game-winning strike. Gill produced the first goal of her EC career.
 
Brockport outshot Elmira 21-11 tonight, including a 13-2 advantage in the second stanza. The Golden Eagles also held leads in shots on goal, 10-5, and penalty corners, 7-5.
 
Gill put the Purple and Gold out in front with her first career goal at the 14:55 mark. Selbert was credited with an assist on the game-opening score, as her initial shot was re-directed by Gill over the Brockport netminder and into the back of the cage for the goal.
 
Elmira's lead lasted less than nine minutes, as Meaghan Lurz knotted the contest at 1-1 with 9:46 left on the first-half game clock. A scrum in front of the net concluded with Alyssa Fuccillo finding Lurz, who snuck the ball past O'Donnell for the score. The Lurz goal held up through the first half, as the two squads entered halftime deadlocked at one apiece.
 
A flurry of shots and a pair of penalty corners put the Elmira defense on its heels early in the second stanza. The Golden Eagles launched five shots in the first 11 minutes, but O'Donnell was up for the challenge as she turned away two shots that made their way on goal.
 
EC's defense set up what would turn out to be the game-winning score, as the Soaring Eagles were awarded a penalty corner at 47:54. Liz Shephard began the scoring play with a pass into the circle, where Selbert fired a shot that beat the goalie for the score just 11 seconds later.
 
Brockport outshot Elmira, 8-1, and held a 3-0 advantage in penalty corners in the final 22 minutes of regulation but the Soaring Eagles were once again up for the challenge. During that time span, O'Donnell made five saves to hold the Golden Eagles scoreless and preserve a 2-1 road victory.
 
In Her Own Words…
"One of the team's goals tonight was to play for 70 minutes," said head coach Lauren Silva. "Not only did they play a complete game, they played together the entire time and really fought for this win. We connected passes beautifully, we blocked up free hits, continued attacking after taking the lead - but it was the heart the team played with tonight was incredible and gave us the competitive advantage. Lately, we've placed more emphasis on developing a winning mentality. Although it's cliche, believing you can achieve is the first step in reaching any goal, and I believe that's made a huge difference for us."
 
News and Notes

• Elmira extended its winning streak to three consecutive games.
• Selbert logged three points on one goal and one assist.
• Selbert produced the first game-winning goal of her career.
• Selbert recorded her team-leading, and career-high, fourth assist of the season.
• Gill scored her first collegiate goal.
• O'Donnell's four wins are the most by an EC goalie since 2013.

 
Up Next
Elmira returns to action this Saturday, October 6, when the Soaring Eagles welcome the Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology to the Murray Athletic Center for an Empire 8 Conference bout. Play in Pine Valley, New York, begins at 11:00 a.m.